Katyusha, Katusha or Katjusha (Russian: Катюша) is a Soviet wartime song about a girl longing for her beloved, who is away on military service. The music was composed in 1938 by Matvei Blanter and the lyrics were written by Mikhail Isakovsky. It was first performed by Valentina Batishcheva in the Column Hall of Moscow's House of the Unions. Later it was performed by Lidiya Ruslanova and other singers. It is part of the repertoire of the Alexandrov Ensemble. In 2010, Russian countertenor Vitas covered a version of this song.
Katyusha is a tender diminutive from the female name Ekaterina (Catherine): Katya is the nickname and Katyusha, a tender diminutive.
The Russian song also gave name to the BM-8, BM-13, and BM-31 "Katyusha" rocket launchers that were built and fielded by the Red Army in World War II.
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The song was first sung by female students from a Russian industrial school in Moscow to bid farewell to Russian soldiers going on the battle front against Nazi Germany in July 1941, who were deeply touched by the song. The song quickly became popular throughout the USSR; it instigates the soldiers to fight against the invading Germans. This helped play a role to the eventual victory of the USSR. [1]
Italy surrendered and joined the Allies in 1943. During the next two years (1943-1945) Italian partisans fought against German forces in Italy and Italian Fascists. Felice Cascione (1918 - 1944) wrote Italian lyrics for the Russian song Katyusha. The song, titled Fischia il vento ("The Wind Blows"), became (with Bella ciao and La Brigata Garibaldi) one of the most famous partisan anthems.
In 1969 the melody of Katyusha was used as base for the song Casatchok (a free transliteration of the Cyrillic Казачок), sung by Dori Ghezzi.
Katyusha has become a folk song in Israel, as did many other old Russian songs. It was translated into Hebrew by the Belorussian born author and poet Noah Pniel in 1940, while he was in Lithuania, and prior to his arrival in Israel. The song became very popular among the Jewish pioneers at the time and later on became popular in the youth movements in the young state of Israel and in the Kibbutzim. It also later had a famous rendition by the Gevatron, a popular Kibbutz group that specialized in Russian and Soviet era covers. The song is often called "a pear and an apple blossomed" or "Livlevu agas vegam tapu'ach" (לבלבו אגס וגם תפוח) after the first line of the lyrics in Hebrew. It is very popular to this day, in the early 21st century, in community singing in Israel.
Performed by Rika Zarai under the name Casatschok.
During the Greek Civil War (1946-1959) Greek partisans, members of the National Liberation Front ("Εθνικό Απελευθερωτικό Μέτωπο", ΕΑΜ) who had also fought against the German Invasion in 1941, wrote their version of Katjusha named "The Hymn of EAM" ("Ο ύμνος του ΕΑΜ"). Almost all partisan songs were passed from Panos Tzavelas but were recorded much later by Thanos Mikroutsikos and sung by Maria Dimitriadi. Nowdays there are many versions of this song by various artists and composers. The Greek version of the song speaks about EAM and its achievements during and after the war.
| Russian text: Катюша |
Transliteration: Katyusha |
Translation: Katyusha |
Italian: FISCHIA IL VENTO |
Greek Text: Ο ΎΜΝΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΑΜ |
Greek Transliteration: YMNOS TOY EAM |
Greek Text Translation: Hymn of EAM |
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Расцветали яблони и груши, Выходила, песню заводила Ой ты, песня, песенка девичья, Пусть он вспомнит девушку простую, |
Rastsvetali yabloni i grushi, Vykhodila, pesnyu zavodila Oy ty, pyesnya, pyesenka devich'ya, Pust' on vspomnit devushku prostuyu, |
Apple and pear trees were blooming. As she walked she sang a sweet song O you song! Little song of a young girl, Will he remember this plain young girl, |
Fischia il vento, urla la bufera, Ogni contrada è patria del ribelle, Se ci coglie la crudele morte, Cessa il vento, calma la bufera: (E noi faremo delle camice nere |
Τρία γάμματα μόνο φωτίζουν Είναι του αγώνα μας τα φώτα To EAM μας έσωσε απ' την πείνα Έχει ενώσει όλο το λαό μας |
Tria gramata mono fotizun Ine tou agona mas ta fota To EAM mas esose ap' tin pina Exi enosi olo to lao mas |
Three letters only illuminate They are the light of our struggle EAM saved us from starving It has united all our people |
The song was featured as the background theme music for the USSR level of the Nintendo Entertainment System video game Super Dodgeball. A remixed version of the song, composed by DJ Rasputin was used as the music to which 2005 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Champion Olga Kapranova used in the 2008 Olympic Games for her ribbon routine. The song also appears in the film Downfall and its soundtrack CD, albeit under the different name of "Jablotschko". A slightly more upbeat-dance version was featured in the game The Next Tetris.
Nat King Cole recorded a song with the same melody entitled Katusha.